Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Wasteland, part 1
(A continuation of Reactor, part 1 &2)

They called them liquidators. The brave men and women who entered the Chernobyl Power Plant after the meltdown. They worked to stop the fire and clean up the destruction. No one has a detailed list of the clean-up. How many hours it took, the number of brave souls who worked on it, or even their names. There is an uncertainty in how the activities of the crew and the amount of radiation each was exposed to will affect these workers in the future. This is the reason that no one knows their names. Those in charge don’t want people to know the damage done. The cost of the clean up. The lives that were affected.

Does any of this sound familiar? No one wants to take responsibility. No one wants to asses the actual damage. No one wants to come face to face with what was done and what the aftermath has brought. In many ways the picture of Chernobyl is the picture of our meltdown. No one wants to take responsibility. Adam points his finger at Eve and in essence, points at the Maker. He says “The woman you put here with me.” He not only points to the woman, tries to avoid responsibility, but he blames God.

How many of us would enjoy a world where there was only one command that could cause damage, one that could wreck the core? Every day the news covers a list of sins brought about because of the broken core, and we cry. If only we had that perfect core, if only we could experience what it was like before the meltdown. Eve was no better. One thing that I appreciate about Eve is at least she understood that Satan had tempted her, not God. She knew that what happened was ugly. She understood that it was not what God had intended. She knew that Satan had fooled her and there was no way to change what had been done. But she still blames. She still says it is the serpent who deceived her.

Very little has changed

We still live in a world that in most cases is unwilling to deal with the consequences. How many of us deal with sin in our lives by acting like it doesn’t exist? Even Christians who should know better often attempt to sweep sin under the rug of daily life. Putting it under the carpet doesn’t fix the problem, it simply allows it to grow undetected.

How many times does Jesus instruct the disciples to take care of their sin? If a brother sins against you go and take care of it. If you have an issue with your brother go before you leave your sacrifice and take care of it. We can also read as the apostle Paul instructs the early church to take care of their anger that day, don’t wait, don’t try to sweep it under the rug. This is not focused on sin and forgiveness, it is about our broken core, but these issues must be understood, the wasteland needs to be seen, before we can address the core.

In the end, often times no one wants to take blame. No one wants to see the list of causalities. No one wants to recite the damage done, but we can, and we should. Until we identify the extent of the damage we can never see how incredible our need is.

We understand wasteland. We understand that there are places we don't want to go and things we don't want to see. No one that I know of plans their summer vacation around a trip to the Chernobyl region of the Ukraine. The area is bleak and uninhabitable. If you do go you will want to wear a protective suit. You will want to keep the trip to a minimum. Yet we live in a creation that is broken, the core is cracked. A power more destructive than radiation has created a wasteland in our hearts, a wasteland that permeates our world. How do we live in this wasteland?

Soon after the explosion and core meltdown in Chernobyl the Russians built a sarcophagus around the site to contain the radiation. A sarcophagus is a large cement encasement that entombed the reactor to insure that radiation doesn’t continue to leak. Now due to cold and snow, wind and rain the sarcophagus is weakening and in danger of collapse. You see all man can really do is attempt to contain the damage.

No matter how much we pickup or throw away, it is impossible to do more than contain the damage done that day. Robots are all that is allowed into the dark reactor number four. The danger is too great, the damage to severe. The site is a hostile environment now because of the destruction, the meltdown, the cracked core.

The area is constantly monitored and measured, tested and retested. Man is attempting to contain and to keep the area safe, but there is nothing we can do to fix it. The damage is already done, cleanup is all we can afford. You and I are no different.

You see, just as man can not cleanup Chernobyl and make it an inhabitable place, we can not clean up our own core. No matter how much we may say we can. Some believe we can at least clean up some, pick up scraps here and there, get rid of a sin of this and that, but it’s not true, we are helpless. In the end it really doesn’t matter how attractive they make Chernobyl look, it can’t change the broken core. No matter how many flowers they plant, no matter how much paint they scrape, the core is still broken. And no matter how many good actions we take, no matter how many nice things we say, we can not fix our own broken core.

If you went there today you would see empty buildings. A deserted amusement park. You would see land that seemed normal if you didn't know the truth of what took place, that lurking within each crevice, each drop of water, each particle of dust, something sinister remains. Something deadly has taken hold, and because of it mankind takes precautions.

What hope do we have? We live among the ruins. Surely there must be something, some way to survive in this wasteland.

To be continued…

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Reactor, part 2

our broken core

In many ways we are like Chernobyl. Our core is broken. Our very existence has a crack. We have melted down and the disaster that has come makes Chernobyl look like a stubbed toe. Sin was introduced in the garden and the core of man, our spirit, was broken. No, our meltdown isn’t something we can blame on technicians or time of day, it comes from sin.

Certainly we can look at Adam and Eve and point fingers, but in the end those fingers will never clean up the mess. Each of us has to deal with the cleanup of that disaster those many years ago. When sin was introduced into creation a meltdown occurred, which in the end, cracked our core.


"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23


It says it simply enough, and yet the words, if we allow, hardly magnify the extent of the damage. Paul not only shares our broken core, our cracked and decaying reactor, but he explains that creation also carries the burden.

Paul uses the word "groaning as in the pains of childbirth." This is no simple statement, this is pain, unbearable pain. There is a reason that the doctors have the host of machines and medicines available when a woman gives birth. Our world feels such pain, such agony, from the broken core caused by sin. Creation is also in bondage. Creation is subject to frustration and decay, just as man is.

Creation is in bondage and decay, earth is in meltdown, she is broken along with you and I for the same reason: sin. God goes on to explain in detail to man and woman what will come with this new cracked core. He tells of the damage that meltdown brings, and it is not pretty.

Something must be done.

With the statement that all have sinned Paul shares that we are all broken, our core is in need of repair. The destruction that came at Chernobyl on a cold April morning cannot compare with the damage that has been done. Simply turn on the news. Open the history books on the shelf of your home or library. Search on the internet under war and destruction, natural or otherwise.

You will find page after page, photo after photo, image upon image, of a broken world. Of broken people, many are unaware that their core is even damaged, let alone in need of repair. If we only watched the news, if we only looked in the mirror, the destruction in the perfect garden that day would be cause for alarm.

They had a plan at Chernobyl, a fail-safe. Unfortunately it was operated by men, men with a broken core. Aren’t you thankful that our creations operator has no tired technician, no disinterested individuals in safety positions, no one who lacks appreciation for the depth of the situation? Thankfully there is hope for what is broken.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006


The Reactor, part 1


Reactor number four was scheduled for routine maintenance this cold April morning. Nothing new or different from the countless times before. Maintenance was like rest, a constant need. There is not a plant, office building or factory that doesn’t have a maintenance department, there always seems to be something in need of repair. All have something to maintain.

On April 26, 1986 the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had scheduled routine maintenance for Reactor 4. The decision was made to take advantage of the maintenance shutdown to run a test. They wanted to find out if enough power could be generated during shut down to operate emergency equipment and core cooling pumps. They were about to find this out and much more.

Unfortunately the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had a history of poor safety procedure. There are few places one can get away with poor safety procedures, men might say the bathroom, but I am sure no one would think of a nuclear power plant. At 1:23 a.m. technicians at the plant began the process of the shutdown and the test.

The reactor was to be shutdown to 1,000 MW, which means very little to me but to someone running a nuclear power plant capable of producing one gigawatt of electric power, it matters. Instead of shutting down to the prescribed wattage the operator allowed it to fall to 30 MW. Now, math was never a strong subject but even I can figure out the problem here.

The technicians in charge immediately attempted to remedy the problem, but instead of correcting their mistake they only managed to make it worse. Isn’t that so often what happens? The actions we take to correct inevitably inflame. On April 19, the Chernobyl Power Plant’s fourth reactor overheated, causing a meltdown of the reactor core.

The meltdown caused two massive explosions that sent clouds of deadly radioactive materials drifting over farms and fields, cities and lakes. The disaster was 100 times worse then that of Hiroshima. The core broke, cracked, melted down, and with it came disaster.

Another meltdown, another core cracks.

I’d like to jump back even further now. Not ten years or twenty, not even 2,000. I would like to move back to look at another disaster. These two disasters have a great deal in common.

Unlike the Chernobyl Power Plant which had certain design flaws which were exasperated by careless safety procedures, this plant, or better put planet’s, design was perfect, as perfect as its Creator.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:1,2

I wonder at times if I miss the magnificence of the occasion. Could the familiarity of the verses keep me from seeing exactly what is being said? Imagine the crackle, the energy, the pure excitement that must have been present at that moment. There was nothing and then there was something. It wasn’t just something, it was really S-O-M-E-T-H-I-N-G!

I have a friend who once created the world’s largest burrito. Okay, he had help, lots of help, but still he was part of its creation. He has explained in detail the construction of this giant burrito. The hundreds of people involved with planning. The special grill that was constructed for the effort, the massive amounts of preparation that went into the day. I am amazed at the amount of beef and cheese, the gallons of salsa and sour cream. My stomach always gets a little queasy when he explains how they constructed their creation. With snow shovels to scoop and flip, throw and spread. With oars to stir and chemical sprayers to shoot. The special tortilla that was created and how thick it had to be.

It was a twelve foot burrito. You couldn’t use your mother’s spatula for this cooking. Pampered Chef doesn’t have a catalog big enough or a product specialized enough for this creation. Go to Taco Bell and purchase a burrito, pull it out of the wrapper and try to imagine extrapolating (big word I thought worked) that out to 12 feet. It was an incredible event.

Now I have a weak stomach so I can’t even imagine how I would have ate such a creation. When they finally finished, the cooking, the spreading, the cutting, my friend said it was the worst tasting burrito he had ever eaten. They did find a place in the Guinness Book of Records for them, fortunately a tantalizing taste was not required.

Imagine what it was like creating the world. No shovels, not two inch shells, God simply spoke it into being. This creation we are discussing was simply talked into existence. I have trouble getting our dog to sit, let alone come and fetch, and yet God said “Let there be light,”1 and there was light. My friend went to great lengths to get their names in a book, God created his so we could get our names in His book.

And unlike my friends giant twelve foot burrito that tasted like a snow shovel, God saw that it was good. At each turn and with each breath. God could see that His creation, yes His creation, was good. Then it came.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” Genesis 1:26a

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female he created them... Genesis 1:27,

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.Genesis 1:31a

Let’s take a moment to rest here, God did. Let’s take a moment to remember, God gave an entire day, to think about the perfect creation. God was there, Jesus was there that day, John attests to this truth in the gospel of John and the Holy Spirit was there on the water, a part of God’s perfect creation.

You know where this story is going don’t you. Just like Chernobyl, we can return to the scene of the disaster. Just like Chernobyl, we can go back and understand why. But just as with Chernobyl, we are helpless to stop, or alter the consequences in any way.

God established man and woman as his ultimate maintenance department. He gave them His wonderful pristine creation and said this is what you need to do to maintain it. I admit that sometimes I struggle with directions but these? He tells them to be fruitful and increase in number, I have never seen this as an issue. He gave instruction that man and woman were to have authority over all living creatures. He gave us a grocery list that anyone would envy. Then He explained that there was only one tree that’s fruit was not to be eaten.

Adam and Eve, like the technicians at Chernobyl, were careless. They paid little attention to the safety procedures that had been established. Eve shows this lack of concern when she can’t even remember exactly what God said to them in regards to the tree. She misquotes God’s safety instructions. And just as a lack of concern doomed the number four reactor along with the entire Chernobyl Power Plant, a lack of concern doomed Adam and Eve along with all creation.

The reports after the Chernobyl disaster identified a “lack of a safety culture” in the plant. Genesis chapter three shows a lack of a safety culture in man. The choice was given and man chose sin. I don’t know the exact time but I do know it took place in the cool of the day. I’m uncertain of the season, not sure if I could identify the month, but I can see the results.

Just as the core of reactor four melted down, cracked and broke, creation itself, what God had called good, melted down that day. With one bite of the trees’ fruit, sin entered creation, and it hasn’t been the same since. We can return to Chernobyl to see the damage, with creation there is no need. We need look no further than the mirror.

Monday, July 10, 2006


Listening

We have returned from the great state of Montana. Only one detour on our road trip back. I am sure South Dakota looks wonderful this time of year, but I can think of nothing more depressing than finding yourself looking across its border at two in the morning when your goal is Colorado. Oh how I longed to see Casper, Wyoming that night.

We did a lot of fishing during our time in Montana. A lot of fishing, not so much catching. We backpacked in to one particular spot, the Widow Coulee. Now I didn’t know what a coulee was at the time and never thought to ask my father-in-law. When we hike in, I always think of a widow’s peak, but I’m sure they are not related. Oh, a coulee is a deep canyon, but I have no idea how it became a widow.

We fished along the Missouri River. One particular day we fished from the early morning until late afternoon. At a certain point I decided to steal away from my wife and father-in-law and take some time for quiet meditation and prayer. I grabbed my CD player along with David Crowder and went looking for a peaceful place.

As I walked down the shoreline I saw a rock protruding from the middle of the river. I decided to wade out to the rock and use it as a perch to pray. Well, saying it was out in the middle is a bit of an exaggeration. The river was about two football fields wide at this point and the rock was about half way through the first field’s end zone. I did have to wade in and get wet, but the distance was only 5 yards. I know it ruins that visual you may have created of me fighting the rapids to find a place of peace but I want to be accurate.

As I stood on this rock I began to think about my journey. I began to contemplate my place and I must confess I began to ask questions. I ask a lot of questions. Questions are something I never seem to run out of. It was on that rock in the middle of the Missouri River that a very distinct thought popped into my head. A thought that I could even make out over my loud David Crowder Band. The word that kept coming to my mind, that hasn’t left since is, listen. Just listen. Stop asking so many questions and just listen. The thought exploded as the current exploded around the rock.

“Listen to what I have to say. If I wanted you to know something don’t you think I would tell you?” What a powerful thought that ran through my head. I pray a lot, but I often find myself asking questions. It was at this moment on this rock that I said I would stop. I committed to end my childish rants. It was time for me to listen. Time for me to believe that if God had something to say he was quite capable of saying it without me levering His words with an eloquent prayer or a quite place of meditation.

I have this picture of Moses in my head. He is wondering in the wilderness area around Horeb. Along every valley and upon every hill he asks the shrubs to talk to him. He implores every bush, plant and tree to give him a message from God or to show him a sign. I can see the frustration grow on Moses’ face as each bush remains silent. No fire, not even a hint of smoke.

I think of Joseph as a child. I imagine him sitting around just hoping for a dream. As if he were saying, “Give me a dream God, something that will show me what will happen when I grow up. Give me confidence that you have a plan for me.” I can see Joseph sitting around with that snazzy coat of many colors and I can hear the exasperation in his voice, “No dream last night God, I need that dream.”

But that’s not the story is it?

That isn’t how it happened. Moses didn’t head out to the hills and dales in search of a message from God. God found Moses. Joseph didn’t ask for some great purpose, he was mostly trying to stay out of trouble with his brothers.

They weren’t asking for special insight. They weren’t even asking for some special task from God. In each of these stories they are just living, making time, working and getting the job done.

God chose them. God revealed himself to them. God spoke to them. No insistence on their part. No indication that they even wanted to get so fully involved in God’s story. I want to listen. To hear. To believe that I am right where God wants me. He is that big you know.

I believe that if He wants me to know something He will let me know. He will make me fully aware if I will just listen.